Traditional media such as newspapers and television are perceived as the most influential by PR professionals in both Malaysia and Singapore according to the survey. However, digital and social media are also commonly used and seen as relatively more influential than other media such as magazines. Looking to the future, PR professionals expect the media mix to incorporate both traditional and digital/social media. In Malaysia specifically, social media is seen as balanced and performing the role of a watchdog, unlike in Singapore where perceptions of traditional media are more positive.

1. Media and PR Influencers Survey Findings
>Malaysia
>Singapore
Presented by Leon Hudson, General Manager, South East Asia
Analysis by Sanjay Khanna, Market Research Manager
August 2010

2. 2
Media Monitors - Thought Leadership
The Media Analysis Series examine the discourse regarding key
issues in traditional and new media, providing valuable insight into
today’s media landscape.
The Energy Debate -
Discussion on nuclear, coal, solar, wind
and other energy sources in Asia Pacific.
The Climate Change Debate -
Discussion about solutions
differed greatly, ensuring the
most likely outcome is indecision
and therefore inaction.
The Obama Report
Analysing the Media Response to
President Obama across the Asia-
Pacific Region.
The Water Debate in Australia -
A Drought of Action; A Flood of
Politics, Vested Interests and
Nimbyism.
The Global Financial Crisis
Report
Analysing the Media Response to
Global Financial Crisis across the
Asia-Pacific Region.

3. 3
Table of contents
1) About the survey
2) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: key take-outs and key findings
3) PROFILE of survey respondents? (PR professionals/Media)
4) Which Media are most INFLUENTIAL? Why?
5) What CHALLENGES are faced by PR/Media professionals?
6) PR - Media RELATIONSHIP: A snapshot
7) Media PREFERENCES
8) CONCLUSIONS and Recommendations
Making Sense of the Media

4. 4
1. About the survey

5. 5
Survey background
Surveys conducted in
Malaysia (in collaboration with Public
Relations Consultants’ Association of
Malaysia) and
Singapore
Survey Period: 15 June to 9 July 2010
Online survey ~ 10 min; closed-ended
questions, tick one/more as applicable
Two separate surveys: with some common
questions
Public Relations (PR) professionals: in-
house and agency
Media professionals: Press, Broadcast,
Online, News-wires, Bloggers
378 completed surveys in total:
About the Survey
Survey Objectives
As part of our thought leadership series,
Asia Media Monitors has surveyed PR
practitioners and media professionals in
Malaysia and Singapore markets. The major
objectives of the survey are to find out
1. media that are considered most
influential by the PR professionals,
2. current challenges faced by PR/media
professionals
3. state of the relationship between the
PR professionals and media
professionals and areas where it could
be improved
4. media preferences for getting
information from PR practitioners
Key survey findings are included as the
Executive Summary on the following pages
and detailed findings have been graphically
presented in the report that follows.
Demographics - PR professionals:
> 309 respondents in total (Malaysia +
Singapore)
> A mix of agency (1/3) and in-house
professionals (2/3)
 junior, middle and senior management
levels represented from small, medium
and large organisations
 PR/Communications qualifications is
the highest level of qualification for
40% respondents
 Previous role most likely in
PR/Communications – only ~13% have
had held a journalism role previously
 Median age is ~37 years, with a median
~10 years of experience in
PR/Communications
 Gender balance: more female
practitioners overall, in-house
practitioners’ comprise ~60%
female/40% male and agency sample
has an equal representation of both
genders
Demographics - Media professionals:
 69 respondents (journalists, writers,
correspondents,editorial,management
staff) from publications, online news
publications and broadcast stations.
Twelve bloggers are also included
 Unlike PR sample, the gender
breakdown indicates a skew towards
male gender (64% of the sample)
 Median age ~39 years; 12 years
experience in media/communications

6. 6
2. Executive Summary

7. 7
The greatest challenge faced by the
PR profession in Malaysia is to raise
the profile of the sector and to
demonstrate tangible value of PR
that impacts the bottom-line of an
organisation.
PR professionals do not have much
control over exogenous factors such as
the domestic political and economic
environment impacting the sector.
However, factors such as talent
management, demonstrable value
through monitoring and analysis,
managing the growing use of
digital/social media and interaction with
the media might be well within the
sphere of control of PR professionals.
Clients are more demanding of the
PR/communications practice in
Singapore and the profession is much
more accepted, recognised and
established here. Yet there is an
apparent dichotomy - traditional media
is still considered relatively more
influential compared to that in Malaysia,
while the penetration of social media
usage is high as well.
The biggest challenge in Singapore is to
clearly demonstrate the value of
traditional as well as new media
communications to demanding
internal/external clients by using
appropriate media monitoring and
analysis tools and showing the
contribution to the bottom-line.
Media is comfortable with the use of
technology for research / news-
gathering as well as providing online
news content. However, the need of
the hour is to provide unique and
more relevant online content that is
interactive, user-generated content
that is also more engaging for the
target audience.
Executive Summary – Key Take-outs
Demonstrating the value of
communications to the
bottom-line of organisations
is the key …
Relationship between the two
professions is and has been tenuous.
There is scope for improvement by
two–way communication on a timely
basis, where relevant and with
transparency. Finding a common
middle ground is a challenge but this
can be overcome by understanding the
needs and preferences and delivering
accordingly – whether it is media
information (e.g. broad based industry
trends provided with product news) or
media providing a timely
acknowledgement and response to a
media release.
More research in this area is
recommended to uncover the dynamic
and growing needs and requirements of
in-house as well as agency practitioners
and media professionals.
Two-way communication is
required to understand the
needs and preferences …

8. 8
1. INFLUENTIAL MEDIA
Traditional media (especially newspapers
and television) are perceived to be most
influential for communicating with the
target audience in both markets, as
reported by PR professionals in the survey.
The key reasons are:
>traditional media is considered relevant
to the target audience by a majority of
respondents, relatively more in
Singapore than in Malaysia
>traditional media is also perceived
better on quality of analysis and opinion
as compared to digital/social media
Communicating with the target audience
using digital/social media is, however quite
common (80% of respondents reported
using these media in the last 12 months as
part of their communication strategy).
These new media are seen to be relatively
more influential than magazines, radio,
outdoor and below-the-line media
Malaysia PR: Malaysia PR professionals
have much better perceptions of
digital/social media than their Singapore
counterparts. In Malaysia, digital/social
media is perceived to be
>balanced/unbiased compared to
traditional media and
>is already performing the social
monitoring/ watch-dog role. This
watch-dog role has been held by
traditional media ever since the
evolution of media. Media
professionals responses also support
this finding as well.
Recently the PR week commented that
Malaysia has in fact become the ‘poster-
child for the transformative power of social
media.’ (see slide 23)
Singapore PR: Perceptions of traditional
media are better on
>relevance to target audience
>quality of analysis and opinion and
>being balanced and unbiased
However respondents are equally divided
when asked to compare traditional media
to social media for the social watch-dog
role
Most survey respondents who have used
digital /social media believe that this
medium
>provides a wider reach
>reaches a niche target audience such as
young adults
>allows the organisation to engage
directly with the audience and
>works faster, more effectively and
efficiently
Looking into the future, it is highly likely
that the future media mix for an
organisation would incorporate both
traditional media and digital/social media.
It would also work best if communications
through these two channels can be
integrated. Media intermediation is also
becoming important and organisations can
use this to get more media attention than
was ever possible through using just press
releases and focussed pitching in the past.
Executive Summary – key findings
Future media mix will
incorporate both
traditional as well as
digital/social media …
Malaysia has become the
‘poster-child for the
transformative power of
social media.’

9. 9
2. CHALLENGES
Survey respondents were asked - to pick
one challenge that they believe is the
‘greatest challenge’ for them as PR/media
professionals, from amongst the several
challenges listed on the questionnaire.
In both the markets, PR professionals’
greatest challenges are
>determining the return on investment of
PR campaigns and
>managing social media discussion
Dealing with traditional media only
interested in paid content is also mentioned
as one of the top challenges.
The greatest challenges for media
professionals are
>declining audience/circulation
>declining advertising revenues and
>working with limited budgets/resources
These three challenges are related and
dependent on each other. Another survey
finding puts a context to the above finding.
The proposed and much publicised
business/revenue model for traditional
media especially for publications is charging
for online content or ‘putting up the pay-
walls’. More than 60% of all respondents
answered in the negative when
asked “as a consumer of news, would you
pay for online news content?”.
Experts have opined that consumption of
online news is likely to grow as it is a
dynamic medium and news is delivered real-
time. But online news is also seen by many
as a commodity - media pay-walls are likely
to face resistance unless niche, original and
unique content can be delivered in a cost
effective and efficient way.
Malaysia PR: In Malaysia, other challenges
voiced by respondents are
>recognition of the strategic role of PR
>getting commitment from senior
management (although 60%
respondents indicate a direct line of
relationship of their PR /
Communications head to the CEO)
Executive Summary – key findings
Singapore PR: In contrast, recognition and
commitment are not viewed as major
challenges in Singapore, possibly due to PR /
Communications being a mature, relatively
well established and recognised sector in
Singapore. However, a challenge that ranks
high is
>dealing with demanding
internal/external clients who expect
greater value from PR
In Malaysia, a question about PR
accreditation and implementation of the
proposed PR Act was asked. There is
consensus within the two groups i.e. in-
house and agency professionals , but
polarised perceptions exist between the two
groups
>Would mandatory PR accreditation
raise PR industry standards? (only in-
house PR professionals are in favour)
>Should PR Act be implemented? (only
in-house PR professionals are in favour)
GFC and its impact: GFC has had its impact
on PR agency revenues and in-house
communication budgets but optimism is
returning in line with the recovery in the
broader economy.
Determining the Return
on investment (ROI) of
PR campaigns is the
greatest challenge for
PR professionals

10. 10
3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PR AND
MEDIA PROFESSIONALS
This section of the survey explored the
overall experience and state of relationship
that PR professionals have with traditional
media professionals and vice versa.
PR professionals: The overall experience
with media is rated positive in both the
markets. Accuracy in reporting by the media
(particularly in Singapore) and availability to
discuss story ideas are seen as good or fair by
most respondents.
However, in both markets PR professionals
expect
>better acknowledgement of media
information sent
>better acceptance of follow-up by media
Media professionals are not so positive in
their overall experience rating of PR
professionals. Attributes that influence this
rating are
>little awareness of deadlines
>perceived lack of understanding of topics
covered by media
>perceived low level of familiarity with
media outlets/broadcast stations and
>lack of authenticity
The above findings are re-inforced by
responses to another question where more
than half the media respondents rate less
than 50% of the media releases received as
‘timely’ and ‘relevant’.
Looking at the above aspects impacting the
overall relationship between the two
professions, it is evident that a few of these
are communication issues in itself (such as
awareness of deadlines) that can be
resolved with both sides. finding a middle
ground and communicating openly.
4. MEDIA PREFERENCES
Media releases sent through e-mail are the
most preferred means of contact by the
media because most media professionals
are seldom available at their work-place.
This also allows the media to review the
information unobtrusively and judge the
newsworthiness independently. As
mentioned above, a majority of media
releases currently need to improve in terms
of timeliness and relevance.
Another factor for PR professionals to
Executive Summary – key findings
consider is that most media professionals
work with multiple platforms nowadays. So
there is a need to customise media releases
to suit each of these platforms - including
tailoring these to the bloggers’ needs.
(Most bloggers surveyed, welcome contact
with PR professionals.)
Face-to-face communications seems to
have a role to play as well - events
/conferences/media visits are perceived
effective due to
>the direct interaction with company
/client PR staff
>the opportunity to interview/ask
questions and
>to get first hand information/visuals
related to the product/service/process
being showcased
Media professionals are most interested in
industry trends followed by
company/product news. Research sources
most used are news websites/portals,
traditional media and corporate websites.
Less than 50% of the
media releases are
‘timely’ and ‘relevant’

11. 11
3.1 Survey respondents’ profile
PR professionals

12. 12
Current Role - PR professionals
Wide cross-section of PR professionals included n = 309

13. 13
Organisation size - PR professionals
Malaysia, n = 118
Singapore, n = 108Small , medium and large organisations represented

14. 14
Management level - PR professionals
n = 258
Influential PR professionals from all levels of management

15. 15
Reporting Relationship of PR Head to CEO
n = 217
6 in 10 Head of PR/Communications have a direct, hard line of reporting to
the CEO
Direct hard
line
63%
Indirect line
(regular
contact)
16%
Indirect
dotted line
14%
No line
7%

16. 16
Highest Level of Education – PR professionals
n = 309
Bachelors -
Mass
Comms/Media
16%
Grad. Cert.-
Mass
Comms/Media
13%
Masters - Mass
Comms/Media
10%
Bachelors -
other
34%
Masters - other
15%
Secondary
School or
under
3%
Other
9%
~40% have PR academic qualifications as their highest level of education

17. 17
Gender - PR professionals
n = 256
Female gender predominant in PR;
Agency professionals: 50 / 50 split, In-house: 60% F, 40% M

18. 18
3.2 Survey respondents profile
- Media professionals

19. 19
Gender – Media Professionals
n = 50
Gender balance is quite different between the two professions

20. 20
Current Role – Media Professionals
n = 69
Cross-section of editorial/non editorial staff and bloggers included

21. 21
Media platforms
n = 69
Most media professionals now work across multiple platforms (avg. 2 platforms -
print and online common)

22. 22
4. Influential Media

23. 23
Influential Media – PR professionals
n = 309
39%
18%
12%
14%
36%
19%
15%
11%
Newspapers
Television
Online news
sites
Social media
Malaysia Singapore

24. 24
>Traditional media offers
 better quality of analysis and opinion (64% rated ‘better than’ social
media)
 perceived to be more balanced and unbiased (57% said ‘better than’
social media)
>Traditional Media’s is relevant (38% rated it ‘better’) , but relevance likely
to diminish as a result of
 media fragmentation?
 social media’s widening reach?
 Social media seen more ‘relevant’ / used more by a segment of
our target audience?
>Singapore respondents currently hold a mixed view about the watch-dog
role of social media
Singapore PR:
Traditional Media vs. Social/Digital Media

25. 25
Singapore PR have a relatively better perception of traditional media
In Malaysia,
>Traditional media is perceived to be relevant to target audience (34% rated it
better)
>And seen to offer a better quality of analysis and opinion (41% respondents
rated ‘better’ and 34% ‘same as’ social media)
However,
>Social media seen as balanced and unbiased (44% rated ‘better’ + 31% ‘same’)
>Unlike Singapore, in Malaysia, social media is perceived as the social
monitor/watch-dog (40% PR have rated it ‘better’ + 36% ‘same’)
recent PR Week story …
Malaysia PR:
Traditional Media vs. Social/Digital Media

26. Malaysia

27. 27
>Overall, views of media professionals are similar
>Traditional media’s
Relevance to target audience is being eroded by social media
Social monitoring/watchdog role is now with social media
>However traditional media’s strength is evident in the area of
offering quality opinion and analysis (58% rated it ‘better’)
and presenting a balanced and unbiased view (43% rated it ‘better’)
Media:
Traditional Media vs. Social/Digital Media:

28. 28
5. Challenges

29. 29
Greatest challenge – PR professionals
n = 309
Demonstrating the strategic value of PR is the biggest challenge
15%
13%
13%
17%
11%
6%
18%
16%
13%
10%
3%
15%
Campaign ROI
Managing social
media
Dealing w/ trad.
media
Recognition
Commitment by
mgmt.
Demanding
clients
Malaysia Singapore

30. 30
PR Measurement: Media Monitoring and Analysis
n = 309Image Credit: Gauges and Dials by mag3737

31. 31
PR Measurement: Media Monitoring and Analysis
n = 309Image Credit: Gauges and Dials by mag3737

32. 32
What was the impact of GFC on the PR budgets/revenue?
What is the outlook for next 12 months?
Singapore PR
>Impact on most corporate/govt sector budgets across the board: 44% said
budgets ‘declined’, 7% ‘increased’
>Mixed impact on PR agency revenue: 33% said ‘declined’, 31% recorded an
‘increase’
>Optimism is returning fast (>30% said budget ‘likely to go up’ in next 12m, only
6% ‘likely to decline’)
Malaysia PR
>Compared to Singapore, slightly less impact on corporate/govt. sector : 36%
‘declined’
>Compared to Singapore, slightly more impact on PR agency revenue: 40%
‘declined’
>Outlook for next 12m is positive in Malaysia as well (25% said ‘likely to go up’,
only 13% said ‘likely to decline’)

33. 33
Malaysia only
Mandatory PR Accreditation Higher Standards?
Polarised Perceptions …
n = 154
Would mandatory PR Accreditation promote higher standards?
Yes, 26%
Yes, 61%
No, 66%
No, 24%
8%
15%
PR
agency/consultant
In-house
Yes No Don't know

34. 34
Malaysia only
Proposed Public Relations Act: Should it be implemented?
Polarised Perceptions …
n = 154
Should the PR Act be implemented?
Yes, 16%
Yes, 56%
No, 74%
No, 24%
10%
20%
PR
agency/consultant
In-house
Yes No Don't know

35. 35
Greatest challenge – Media professionals
n = 69

36. 36
Attitude towards online news consumption
PR, n = 309
Media, n = 69Q: As a consumer, would you pay for accessing news online?

37. 37
Nielsen study Feb 2010*
* 27000 respondents, 52 countries

38. 38
6. Relationship snapshot:
PR professionals and Media professionals

39. 39
Singapore PR:
Experience dealing with media professionals
n = 155
5%
5%
6%
8%
35%
35%
32%
50%
45%
32%
43%
48%
38%
46%
17%
14%
11%
5%
10%
Acknowledgement
of info
Acceptance of
follow-up
Availability to
discuss
Reporting accuracy
Overall experience
1. Excellent 2. Good 3. Fair 4. Poor 5. Very Poor 6. Don't know
Overall experience ‘good’ or ‘fair’ but PR professionals desire media acceptance of PR
follow-up and acknowledgement of media information sent

40. 40
Malaysia PR:
Experience dealing with media professionals
n = 154
5%
5%
33%
31%
37%
38%
44%
36%
47%
46%
54%
47%
19%
16%
9%
5%
7%
8%
Acknowledgement
of info
Acceptance of
follow-up
Availability to
discuss
Reporting accuracy
Overall experience
1. Excellent 2. Good 3. Fair 4. Poor 5. Very Poor 6. Don't know
Similar experience compared to Singapore. However, accuracy in reporting perceived to
be relatively lower

41. 41
Media professionals:
Experience dealing with PR professionals
n = 63
~1 in 3 media professionals expect a much better understanding of media deadlines, a lack
of ‘spin’ and much better awareness of their media outlet/blog requirements/subjects
5%
27%
25%
17%
14%
21%
22%
16%
54%
40%
54%
54%
44%
33%
56%
10%
16%
21%
22%
22%
25%
16%
8%
8%
8%
10%
11%
14%
6%
Responsiveness
Access to executives
Understanding of…
Authenticity
Familiarity w/…
Deadlines
Overall Experience
Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor Don't know

42. 42
7. Media preferences

43. 43
Which is the most preferred mode of contact?
n = 62

44. 44
Which media relation activity is most effective overall ?
n = 61

45. 45
Which story ideas interest media the most?
n = 60

46. 46
Which research sources are preferred by media?
n = 59

47. 47
8. Conclusions and Recommendations

48. 48
Conclusions and Recommendations
>Future media mix: Traditional + social media = broader influence, wider reach
>Traditional media still relevant and strong on quality of commentary/opinion
>Social media has taken up the ‘watch-dog’ role (+ seen as unbiased - in Malaysia)
>Greatest challenge for PR is to demonstrate the value and strategic role of PR
>Dealing with traditional media remains a challenge for PR as well as managing
social media
>As media revenue models are challenged and new models/pay-walls are tested,
importance of paid content/editorials might increase
Conclusions continued on next slide…

49. 49
Conclusions and Recommendations
>Strong economic recovery is aiding the recovery of the PR/media sectors as well
>Gender imbalance in PR and media sectors – does it have an impact?
>‘Communication’ between PR and media professionals is still a challenge
 PR professionals want more acknowledgement/acceptance of follow-up
 Media want a better understanding of subjects/outlets before PR pitch any
stories
 Stories need to arrive timely and be devoid of ‘spin’
>Media releases sent through email preferred – simple/direct/largely un-
obstrusive
>Events/conferences have a role to play - allow face-to-face contact and industry
trends can be disseminated

50. 50
Verbatim comments
SG: (We have) used digital/social media to
keep pace with changing information-
receiving habits of audience
SG: …. what the writers can gain from you
in terms of press trips determine how
much media interest you hold … it also
how much media dollars you spend with
the publications. Digital media, it is not
really developed in Singapore.
MY: Malaysian corporates have yet to reach
the level of sophistication as other markets
eg Singapore, HK.
SG: Getting enough competent PR and
communications professionals in your
team or to serve your account …(is a
challenge)
SG: the role of PR should provide a guide
into the tracking and measuring the
success of digital campaigns … and to
provide a roadmap with detailed
objectives and measurables in order to
showcase value
MY: We are seen as the fire-fighters,
spin doctors, glamour boys n girls..not
as an essential and strategic
management tool

51. 51
SG : (challenge is … to come up with a medium
term PR strategy for the coming 3-5 years and
provide a vision for PR value for business)
MY: Corp. Comm. /PR should be put under
MD/CEO … not under Marketing
…Marketing and PR are two different school
of thoughts using different approaches in
order to meet the goals of the company.
Verbatim comments
SG: Publications are leaning towards
newsmaker that has investment via
advertising or conference sponsorship
MY: PR practitioners failed to be
recognised … because they failed to
earn their seat at the … decision
making level. … must ensure that they
are not just cost centre but business
generating centre
MY: Relationship between the media and
PR professionals is a 2-way process - both
have to work in partnership, and it's not
always the PR professional that has to
lobby for stories.

52. Thank you!
The full report is available for download on our website
www.mediamonitors.com.sg